People who frequently experience stress and anxiety have a greater risk of development of irritable bowel syndrome after having a heavy gastrointestinal infection. This conclusion was recently made by British and New Zealand scientists.

The research carried out by them has shown, that psychological and behavioral factors play an important role in development of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Scientists examined more than 600 patients that endured an acute gastrointestinal infection. It is important that none of them suffered from irritable bowel syndrome before the disease.

It was established that those patients that developed irritable bowel syndrome, more often displayed symptoms of increased anxiety and emotional strain. They were more pessimistic towards their disease. Besides, anxious and stressed women were more subjected to irritable bowel syndrome than men.